Startup Employees: Here is the proper way to value your stock options

What happened at Good Technology is an excellent reminder for employees working at any venture-funded private company on how to treat those stock options you're getting.

For most employees, for the sake of your own financial planning and salary negotiations, those options should be treated as if they are worth $0. Because until you sell them, that's what they're worth.

OK, technically, by some measures, those options are worth more than $0. But you have to discount for risk. And startup stock options are an incredibly risky asset....